Chapter 41: To J
The reason for my hospital admission wasn’t as serious as one might think.
A stab wound to my side.
It didn’t affect any organs, but they said it still needed treatment.
Not having to work was pretty nice, though.
"...Are you serious?"
At my words, Jang Chae-yeon, hugging the blanket tightly to her chest, nodded.
"I am."
"In that case, please get out."
When I pointed outside the door with my finger, Jang Chae-yeon shook her head with an even more expressionless face.
"No."
"No, how did you even get in here in the first place?"
Surely only guardians should be allowed in?
In response to my question, Jang Chae-yeon pointed proudly to the name tag pinned to her chest.
For a moment, my gaze drifted past the name tag to the massive something behind her, but I desperately forced my eyes back to the tag.
<Guardian - Jang Chae-yeon>
"I'm your guardian."
"..."
I stared hard at Jang Chae-yeon, but she just stared right back at me, showing no intention of looking away.
"...Let's step outside to talk for a moment."
At my suggestion, she nodded and held up my IV line.
"Is it hard to walk?"
"What's hard about it? My side just aches a bit."
She looked up at me with a worried expression, scrutinizing my face.
"Tell me if it hurts."
"Talking isn't difficult. But it's not like you can do anything about it anyway."
"...Don't say things that hurt my feelings."
She looked at me with her eyes slightly narrowed.
The sunlight made her eyelashes glint, and every time she looked up at me, her white hair made a soft rustling sound that tickled my breath.
"...I'm sorry."
"I forgive you."
I really hate to admit it, but I succumbed to her beauty.
What could I possibly do when she looks at me with an expression that seems to carry all the sorrows of the world? I just had to apologize.
"Is there anything you want to eat?"
"Why? Are you going to make it for me?"
"........If you want."
After a long silence, Jang Chae-yeon spoke as if squeezing the words out.
"It might take some time..."
"I'll just accept the thought."
How can a person be good at everything? It's okay if she's not great at cooking.
We stepped out of the hospital room and walked slowly.
Without saying a word, Jang Chae-yeon just walked alongside me, matching my pace.
Just like last time, when she walks with me, she doesn't seem to feel the need to force conversation.
At first, it was quite uncomfortable, but after experiencing it a few times, I think I understand.
Maybe this is her way of showing closeness.
Didn't someone say that?
A person with whom silence is comfortable is closer than a person with whom conversation is easy.
"..."
"..."
She didn't say a single word until we got on the elevator and went down, just sticking by my side and staring blankly ahead.
I could feel people occasionally glancing at her.
It couldn't be helped. Honestly, everyone in the HR team boasts distinctive good looks.
Completely ignoring the stares of others, she gently grabbed my arm as the elevator arrived on the first floor and asked.
"...Aren't your parents coming?"
"Ah, you mean my parents."
"They don't know you work for the Management Bureau, so of course not."
"...Yes, well. I suppose so."
My parents just think their son got a job at a good public corporation and, instead of working himself to death, is earning a lot of money.
It's not entirely wrong, since it is a public corporation for humanity, and I do earn a lot of money.
"Doesn't it feel stifling?"
"What does?"
Walking down the first-floor corridor where patients were moving about, Jang Chae-yeon looked at me.
"Just. You can't tell your family, can you?"
"Sometimes, not knowing is a blessing."
A prime example is what I've been through over the past month.
"Are you here because of your family?"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you at the Management Bureau because you have no choice, to feed your family?"
"Ah."
Why am I at the Management Bureau?
"I guess so."
Having a lot of money is good, of course, but even now, living a quite comfortable life, I'm not exactly desperate for money.
"...If you get the chance, will you quit?"
Jang Chae-yeon stared straight at me.
"Uh..."
Resigning.
I took the Manual out from my embrace and opened it. Jang Chae-yeon also leaned her head over to look at the Manual with me.
[Manual for Office Workers]
[P - Resignation]
1. Resignation is divided into involuntary resignation and voluntary resignation.
2. Involuntary resignation is a procedure carried out in cases of causing critical damage to the Management Bureau or misuse of containment objects.
3. Please remember that in the case of involuntary resignation, the death benefit is not paid to the bereaved family.
4. In the case of voluntary resignation, after the HR team and related departments review the documents and reasons, it will proceed under the premise that they are justified.
5. If you resign voluntarily, your severance pay and bonus will be paid into your account.
6. However, to prevent information leakage, memory erasure and new memories will be implanted, and if side effects occur, the Management Bureau will take responsibility and fix your memories.
7. Please note that personnel you knew at the Management Bureau will also be replaced with different memories.
"..."
It's a fascinating story, but even after going through all that, the option of resignation never crossed my mind.
Was it because the girl's words, 'If you can be a strength, help others,' kept swirling in my head? Or was it simply that I'd lost any sense of crisis? I couldn't tell.
Jang Chae-yeon stared at me. She came so close that I could see myself reflected in her blue eyes, then she whispered in my ear.
"If you resign... even if I look like someone else, I'll find you. So don't worry."
"That's very kind of you to say."
"You can forget me. ...I'll stay by your side until you remember."
How can this woman say such things so calmly?
"I'll do so if it comes to that."
I closed the Manual with a thud and answered Jang Chae-yeon.
"But, well. Don't worry. I don't plan on resigning just yet."
"Just yet?"
"Someday, well... um. If I get badly injured, or reach retirement age, or get so sick of the work that I can't stand it anymore, then I'll quit."
"..."
Jang Chae-yeon made a lonely expression.
Seeing her like that, a sudden curiosity arose, and without thinking, I asked her a question.
"Why are you at the Management Bureau, Ms. Chae-yeon?"
"...Me?"
She hesitated before speaking.
"...I left something here that I must not forget."
"Something you must not forget?"
"Um..."
As if choosing her words, she repeatedly furrowed her brow and then relaxed it, pursing her lips.
"...Sorry. It's hard to explain."
"It's fine."
I haven't told her everything either; wanting to know everything would be an unfair exchange.
"...I'll tell you when I can organize my thoughts. Definitely. It's not that I don't want to tell you."
"Yes, I believe you."
Was she concerned? Her gaze moved restlessly before she spoke again.
"Aren't you tired? Should we go back inside and sleep?"
"...Are you really good at sleeping?"
"Yep."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"Why?"
"Because I want to."
She leaned her face towards me and looked up at me.
A floral scent wafted over momentarily.
"You're too close."
"I know."
"And that's not the important point..."
"You said even your parents can't come."
"..."
Her gaze shifted from the floor back to my face.
"You're lonely, aren't you?"
"I'm too old to feel lonely just from sleeping alone in a hospital, Ms. Chae-yeon."
"We're only two years apart."
"You know I'm the older one, right?"
At my words, the corners of Jang Chae-yeon's eyes curved into arcs.
"Will you call me oppa?"
"Don't change the subject, and please go back now."
Jang Chae-yeon shook her head and stood rooted to the spot as if nailed down.
"I'm not going unless you move me by force."
I see, this woman's stubbornness is... strong.
A sigh escaped me.
What's even more unfair is that when I sigh and see Jang Chae-yeon, who watches my reaction but absolutely refuses to move, my resolve weakens.
"You'll just sleep and then go, right?"
"...Yeah."
Her voice jumped slightly and then settled after hearing my agreement.
The time that followed passed without much incident.
We ate the tasteless hospital food, had some meaningless conversations with Jang Chae-yeon, and most of the time, we just spent in silence—sometimes watching TV, sometimes looking out the window, sometimes each doing our own thing—yet time flowed by without any discomfort.
The strange thing was...
When it was time to sleep, she unfolded a blanket and prepared to lie down on the sofa-bed.
"Shall I turn off the light?"
"Are you going to sleep right away?"
"I can sleep as soon as my head touches the pillow."
"I'll have to see that."
"...Actually, it's not that I can sleep immediately upon touching the pillow, I need a little time."
She spoke as if making an excuse and lay down.
With a soft rustling sound of the blanket sliding, she turned her body towards me.
A few strands of her hair fell across her face.
"I'll turn off the light."
"I'll—"
Before I could even finish speaking, she snapped her fingers, and the light went out.
"...Telekinesis."
In the darkness, I couldn't see her face clearly, but I'm sure she was making a smug expression.
"Go to sleep."
"You said you sleep as soon as your head touches the pillow."
"I'm not going to sleep until you do."
"Are you confident?"
"I may look like this, but I was in the Isolation Team."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Sleeping?"
"Good grief."
Her anxious voice was unintentionally funny, and I couldn't help but snicker.
"You said you'd wait for me to sleep, so why do you sound so uneasy?"
"I was worried because you were quiet."
"While trying to sleep."
"...Sorry."
At her slightly deflated voice, I was the one who lost again.
"It's fine. Please go to sleep soon."
"Okay."
"...By the way, what are the other two up to?"
"Yu Daon and ...that girl?"
What on earth happened between Jang Chae-yeon and Song A-rin that they don't even refer to each other by name?
"Yes, well, Ms. Daon and Ms. A-rin."
"They decided to visit in order."
"How did you decide the order?"
"Rock-paper-scissors."
Jang Chae-yeon expressionlessly made a 'V' with her fingers and showed me.
How primitive.
"Go to sleep."
"I'll try."
"...You've been through a lot."
Had she noticed I was thinking about something else? Jang Chae-yeon spoke in a soft voice.
"You've been through a lot. ...Let's sleep now."
"...Yes."
In the end, I also yielded to her soft voice, closed my eyes, and fell asleep surprisingly quickly.
For having fallen asleep in an uncomfortable hospital bed, it seemed like I slept remarkably well.
*
Was he asleep?
After watching him breathe deeply for a while, Jang Chae-yeon carefully sat up.
"..."
There were memories between her and him that she didn't want to share with others.
To others, it might have been one second, but for her and him, it was several months.
Careful not to wake him, she approached and gently brushed back the hair from his sleeping face.
Even though she had been with him for a long time inside the Cube, ironically, sleep was impossible there, so this was the first time she was seeing him asleep.
So, to be honest, she had wanted to see him sleep, even if it meant being a little unreasonable to be here.
"...He looks peaceful."
A face different from the confident one he always showed, or the thoughtful one. This was the face she wanted to see.
Absentmindedly tidying his hair, she murmured in a gentle voice.
"Rest well."
For a long time, she watched his sleeping face, smiling brightly, sometimes with a soft smile.
*
It felt like I had a good, long sleep for the first time in a while.
In contrast, Jang Chae-yeon seemed like she hadn't slept well, yawning continuously, but she had a more satisfied expression than ever.
"Didn't you sleep?"
"No, I slept really well."
In response to my question, she smiled softly and answered, then continued yawning as she left the hospital room.
But it really seems like she didn't sleep.
A few days after Jang Chae-yeon left,
"Hello!"
"I was wondering why Ms. Daon hadn't come yet."
"Eh! Were you waiting for me?"
Looking at Yu Daon, who appeared wearing an identical <Guardian> necklace around her neck and smiling brightly, I could only sigh.
And so, the commotion of hospital visits came to an end.